4 found ‘salvaged’ this week!

At the back, upper portion, can be seen the Municipal Hall. The booth is found at the municipal grounds.

KANANGA, LEYTE – The families of three young men from Ormoc City, some 33 kilometers away, found “salvaged” on Friday morning (January 25) and whose bodies were thrown at the side of the road of an interior barangay here, have already identified the victims and claimed their bodies, said Ch. Insp. Antonio Ancay Jr.

Kananga police chief Ancay said the victims were identified as Francis Kuizon, 18, from Brgy. Sabang; an alias”Tagalog” John Lester Amonah, 17, reportedly a Pampangueño but now temporarily residing at District 29 (Nadongholan); and Marlon Cañete, 18, a resident of Burgos Street, all of Ormoc City.

Their bodies were found along the road beside a sugar plantation at Sitio Sagkahan, Brgy. Poblacion, a remote sitio but still a part of the “downtown” barangay.

The police chief said the discovery of the bodies was reported to them early dawn of Friday.

They found the body of Francis lying on his back with a gunshot wound, stab wounds and his throat cut. Another victim, John Lester, also had a gunshot wound and stab wounds while Marlon Cañete only had stab wounds.  

Ancay, however, said they are still awaiting the official autopsy report. The police chief believes the young men were tortured and killed elsewhere and just thrown at the area. Before the culprits left, he surmised, two shots were fired. They found two empty shells of a caliber 45 at the site, he added.

Ancay said he got a lead to the identities of the bodies when he noticed Francis had a “TBS” tattoo on his arm. He said that the TBS or True Brown Style was a youth gang from nearby Ormoc that was recruiting teeners in Kananga.

Their “masters” often stayed in a kiosk at the  municipal grounds, just beside the municipal hall. Ancay described the area as “within the LGU AOR”, where the TBS did their meetings.

The kiosk is also where the “masters” collected P 5.00 each from their recruits  for their food.

So, he had members fetched to see if they knew the dead youngsters and his hunch proved positive.

The body of Francis was claimed by his brother Fidel; John Chester Amonah’s by his live-in partner who was also a minor and cannot be named, and Marlon Cañete by his stepfather, Edgar Cañete.

The discovery of the three bodies follows closely at the heels of another “salvage” victim found floating at a body of water full of kangkong at around 3:00 PM of Thursday, January 24, at Brgy. San Isidro in Ormoc City.

The victim, when found, was wearing a gray shirt and multi-colored short pants. He died from multiple stab wounds and his throat cut, just like Francis.

As of press time, the police said they have not yet identified the victim. He had no ID and no identifying marks in his body. He was reportedly given a pauper’s burial already after nobody came to claim his body.

Last year, around four people from Ormoc City were found “salvaged” over a span of a few months.  One body was found at Albuera and remains unknown, another at Merida, and two at Baybay City. Last year’s killings are believed to be drug-related and the offshoot of “collection” problems of traffickers and their minions. The killings were also done in a brutal manner.

Kananga chief Ancay, however, said he could not divulge to media their findings yet. They already have an investigation report in coordination with the Ormoc City police as the victims are from there.

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